Oil, gas discovered in northwestern Zambia: president

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has said results of explorations have shown that there are oil and gas in the country's Northwestern province.

Mwanawasa was cited by Zambia News and Information Services ( ZANIS) as saying in a press statement on Sunday that the discovery is as a result of the third field visit by the Geological Survey Department (GSD) conducted in the Chavuma and Zambezi districts in July this year.

A total of 31 soil samples were collected and sent to Germany for analysis which showed that 12 sites were positive for oil and six for gas, according to the president.

He said the results confirmed the presence of oil and gas in the sub-surface of the two districts.

Preliminary investigations were made in November 2004 followed by another survey in August 2005 which were conducted by a team of experts from the GSD and the Department of Energy.

Mwanawasa said the government would soon appoint the Petroleum Committee to facilitate oil and gas exploration by private companies.

The president said the committee would be responsible for formulating policies and guidelines on the issuance of licenses relating to petroleum and its extraction in Zambia, which will be the first time for the oil-lack southern Africa country.

Source: Xinhua